640 
L275 
opy 1 



(( 



IN THE CLAWS 
OF THE HUNS" 



MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 

IN BELGIUM AND 

GERMANY 



BY 

MARIE ROSE LAULER 
Of France 



PRICE, FIFTY CENTS 



TO 
THE AMERICAN FLAG 

THIS BOOK 

le 
DEDICATED 

IN 

Tbiumphant Faith and Heaetfelt Gratitude 



A507094 







Marie Rose Lauler 



My Personal 

Experiences in Belgium 

and Germany 



BY 
MARIE ROSE LAULER 
Of France 



(Copyright 1918) 



PUBLISHED BY 

THE FRENCH ORPHANS' GUARD 

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. 



PRICE, FIFTY CENTS 



E^^^-^ 



CONTENTS. 

Chapter. Page. 
I. "On ne passe pas — They Shall Not 
Pass." How I came to possess 
an American Flag 5 

II. German Piracy and Cruelty 12 

III. How We Hoodwinked the Huns__ 20 

IV. Our Soldiers Rescue Us 28 

V. The Huns' Second Invasion 32 

VI. Deportation of the Women to the 

Camps 44 

VII. My Struggle for Liberty 49 

VIII. Success in My Final Attempt 56 

IX. The Little Flag Guided Me to Co- 
lumbia's Shores*_L 61 



2 

OCT 19 1^16 



INTRODUCTION. 

The short story you are going to read is 
not the result of a visionary mind but the 
personal experience of a young French girl, 
twenty years of age, who has seen more 
during this cruel war, in the few months of 
her early life, than a grandmother of 
eighty. 

She came to this country before the entry 
of the United States in the war, became a 
teacher in our Indianapolis "Paris School of 
French" and was elected secretary of the 
Alliance Francaise of Indianapolis (a rare 
compliment for a young girl), and was ap- 
pointed instructress of French at INDIANA 
STATE UNIVERSITY, Bloomington, Indi- 
ana, where she is still a member of the Fac- 
ulty. Later on with the permission of the 
President of the University, she was sent 
by the Indiana State Council of Defense 
through the country to relate her experi- 
ences to the public. She is now touring the 
United States educating the people in the 
mysteries of this brutal war. 

Her story is written in a simple girlish 
French manner, which gives added strength 
to the facts. Read it, overlook the mistakes 
in grammatical construction and when you 
are through pass it to your friends. It is 
inspiring and well worth your time. 



It is an honor and a great pleasure for 
me to be able to pay a tribute to this young 
French heroine. 

CLAUDE MICHELON, 

Director of the "Paris School of French," 
The Alliance Fran(^aise and the French 
Orphans' Guard of Indianapolis, Indiana. 



CHAPTER I. 

This story begins in a certain convent 
school near Lille on the French-Belgian 
frontier. The school was in Belgium be- 
cause after the law of separation of state 
and church became effective, the sisters set- 
tled in Belgium. Battles have been fought 
right there and all around and are still 
fought not far from there. 

I was a student in the school, my parents 
came to the United States when I was but a 
child. They left me over there to continue 
my education. I was being reared by the 
nuns and as my parents were so far away 
many privileges were granted me, one be- 
ing my frequent visits to the home of Marie 
Claire, my closest convent friend, who lived 
in Lille. The members of Marie Claire's 
family were her mother; Henri, the eldest 
son; the younger sister, Marguerite; and 
dear little brother, Michael. 

It was the first of August, 1914, when we 
were having final exams and professors 
from different universities came to sanc- 
tion our work. It was during the history 
exam that we received the first news of 
the war. The sisters were filled with fear 
at the beginning. Our teacher simply left 
the classroom and locked the door. "The 
Germans are mobilizing!" was the only 
sound we could distinguish. In all this con- 



fusion the afternoon passed. Pretty soon 
all the professors belonging to the jury left. 
Many of us, however, thought the matter 
was not serious. We were on Belgian ter- 
ritory; hence, on neutral soil. From time 
to time I thought of leaving for the United 
States, but on the second of August all 
communications were cut off. 

It happened that we had a few German 
girls in our school, who had been there only 
a short time. One of them said to me, "Why 
did you declare war on us?" My answer 
was, "You don't mean that France declared 
war on Germany. Did you see one French 
soldier since you are around here?" "No," 
She said, "but you declared war on us any- 
how." Before I could answer her she gave 
me a blow on my nose. I took her by the 
hair and pulled her to the station and put 
her on the train, and I hope she has reached 
her beloved Fatherland by this time. 

At midnight we were awakened from 
deep but troubled slumber by the violent 
ringing of the bells and the cry, "WAR! 
WAR! ON TO THE FRONTIER! LET'S 
HURRY!" It was a dark night; in the 
darkness we could see the slender forms of 
the young boys leaving for the frontier. 
Just two hours before we read in the "Cour- 
rier," "The emperor of Germany will keep 
the neutrahty of Belgium." And now our 
boys were marching to the cry, "On ne 
passe pas." This was a coincidence we 
could not understand at the time. 



On the third of August troops continued 
to pass and the people became more excited. 
We went to the station to see the soldiers 
off, singing the Brabanconne and the Mar- 
seillaise. There were only four students 
left at the school, an English girl, a French 
girl, a Belgian girl, and myself. I was con- 
sidered an American because my parents 
resided in the United States, a country I 
had never seen. The four allied nations 
were represented. Where those four girls 
are today no one knows. The French girl 
left the same day and walked to Reubaix; 
the Belgian girl went to Cuba. That is as 
far as I know. 

The fourth of August we were in the war. 
The barbarians were fighting at Liege and 
a fleet approached Anvers. 

Soon the hospitals at Bruxelles were 
filled with wounded soldiers. The first ap- 
peal for the Red Cross was made by Mrs. 
Bedford and Countess Merode. Immediate 
response was made. Our school was con- 
verted into a hospital. I spent my time go- 
ing through a course of training for service 
in the Red Cross. As a hospital, our Pen- 
sionnat looked most inviting. All beds were 
covered with snow white linens, white pil- 
lows, and red coverlets. We had a very 
thrilling time carrying hundreds and hun- 
dreds of beds downstairs. I shall never 
forget how proud I was when attired in a 
white apron, a little white cap, and a big 
red cross on my sleeve. To be a Red Cross 



8 

nurse was such an interesting and needed 
profession that at this time I did not think 
of going to the United States. 

Meanwhile the barbarians approached 
and we could measure their advance each 
day by the roar of their cannon. We could 
not hear the cannons from Liege unless we 
put our ears to the ground, but the cannons 
at Maubeuge were heard distinctly. About 
the middle of August three hundred French 

soldiers were at . We were looking at 

the few machine guns they had placed not 
far from the barracks. We had never seen 
any in action before. 

The Uhlan patrol was already in the vi- 
cinity of the city. We heard the rattle of 
arms and everybody ran out to see what 
was going on, but a shower of bullets flying 
in every direction, windows breaking, large 
pieces of cement flying in the air told the 
people that they had iDctter go back into 
their houses as the streets were no longer 
safe. Everybody found refuge in the cel- 
lars; civilians were killed and wounded; 
bullets came through the houses in showers. 
At the faubourg a few houses were on fire. 
The barbarians came into the cellars and 
carried the girls and women away. Amidst 
this confusion a little boy five years old 
stood praying in a corner and begging 
the Huns not to (separate him from his 
mother. They gave him a heavy blow on 
the head but he continued to pray. 

The Huns gave an order to open all doors. 



Upon entering one house they found an old 
man and an old woman whom the Huns 
accused of opening a door for two French 
soldiers to escape. The old man stammered 
a few words trying to explain that they 
opened the door because it was the German 
command. They did not listen to that old 
voice but took him out behind the house 
and made him dig his own grave, then cov- 
ered his eyes, and while they shot him the 
old woman had to make an omelet for them. 
As soon as she had finished with that her 
fate was the same as that of her husband. 
The firing had ceased and we were per- 
mitted to go out to help the wounded. Night 
came on and out in the fields the barbarians 
were digging holes for the dead. Some of 
them brought big oil cans, sprinkled the 
houses, and they were burned down in a 
few minutes. The people sleeping in those 
houses had not been warned to get out. 
Many of them were burned, others were 
crying and moaning over the great suffer- 
ing of their wounds. A mother ran into a 
half -burned room where she found her child 
burned to death. We were still on the bat- 
tlefield looking for wounded so as to be 
sure that no one was neglected, as it was 
easily possible on the widespread cornfield. 
In the darkness we could see nothing but 
smoldering embers of destroyed houses. As 
soon as the grave for the French soldiers 
was finished several hundred bodies were 
placed in it. Old and young brought 









*#*«?»?^; 



jjf'/rf- ... -- -'-^n- 




11 

wreaths and flowers and spread them over 
this grave which looked like a beautiful 
flower bed. The French flag was put in the 
center with the inscription "To Our Broth- 
ers Who Fell for Their Country on the 24th 
Day of August, 1914." 

For hours people kneeled around the 
grave, their hands folded in prayer. As we 
looked up we perceived the last flicker 
among the ruins. Henri, the brother of 
Marie Claire, was in the ambulance corps. 
He took out of his pocket a little silk flag. 
One gleam of the fire thrown upon it made 
it possible to see the stars. He pinned it 
on me and in a few minutes he disappeared. 
It was an American flag. It spoke of lib- 
erty, but here we were in the hands of the 
Huns. For how long? 



CHAPTER II. 

The following day I went back to the 
convent school and I had to have a pass- 
port to get there. I secured it at the Palais 
de Justice or the Commandatur. I walked 
all day. An aeroplane was circling above 
me. It came closer and closer until I per- 
ceived the pilot. He threw something in 
my direction and at first I thought it might 
be a bomb and jumped into the gutter. To 
my astonishment it was a letter in a trian- 
gular form. I opened it and it read: — 
"Courage. The victory will be ours. We 
shall fight till the end. — (Signed) Pegoud." 
It was the well known Pegoud whom we 
had seen many times before flying over our 
city. His little note was a relief to me and 
the others who read it. I continued to walk 
on as formerly. Pegoud went over on the 
enemy's side, circled, in spite of all the bul- 
lets flying about his, then he disappeared. 

I passed a large hospital, which was filled 
with wounded soldiers. The barbarians 
claimed that the nuns had taken better care 
of the French wounded than of the German 
wounded. The sisters were put in Hne and 
shot, then the school was blown to pieces. 

German troops came from every direc- 
tion and I had a chance to cross the fields. 
I passed a boys' school. Everything had 
been taken away from the building. As I 



13 

walked on I saw the Red Cross flag on near- 
ly every house. All the schools, commercial 
and club buildings were filled with wounded. 
Finally I reached the Pensionnat and I went 
up to the dormatory. There I found that 
my bed and chairs and everything had been 
taken down for the wounded. In utter ex- 
haustion I slept on the floor for a few hours. 

I was aroused by horrible cries. From 
the window I saw the barbarians march by. 
The night was clear and I could distinguish 
at a short distance a Carmelite convent. 
The Huns broke the windows and d5ors, 
went into the nuns' rooms, threw them out 
and took possession of the convent. In an- 
other school were found dead nuns who 
were killed in a most terrible way. A few 
days later the bodies of some of these un- 
fortunates were found in the river several 
miles away. This was the way the Huns 
disposed of some of the bodies. 

The breaking into the houses continued 
the whole night, and there was only one 
punishment awaiting the, people who did 
not open promptly .their doors when the 
Huns commanded, "If you don't open right 
away everything will be put on fire and you 
will all be shot." And then they showed 
their revolvers. That night many lives were 
taken and the memory of the indescribable 
atrocities will be forever burned into the 
minds and hearts of the beholders. 

At the beginning of September the Huns 
took entire possession of our convent school. 



14 

They first went into the kitchen, took all 
the provisions they could find, lunched, and 
made themselves at home. They selected 
the rooms they desired for their own use 
and told us where we could stay. Silver 
was put in nice boxes and sent to their 
wives and sweethearts. The furniture was 
loaded on wagons and sent to Germany. 
One barbarian came up to me and wanted 
a piece of chocolate. He put his revolver 
under my chin and told me to be back in a 
few minutes with the candy or I would be 
shot. If they wanted water, I had to ryn 
and get it and then drink before they did 
in order to show them that it had no poison 
in it. During this time some of the sisters 
were gathered in the chapel in prayer, oth- 
ers were hidden in the cellar with fear. 

Downtown was the abomination of deso- 
lation. The station was blown up. All tele- 
graph wires and telephone wires were cut 
down. They even blew up all the safety 
lockers and destroyed or kept all valuable 
papers. 

In general, people were living in cellars. 
They took, when they had a chance, a few 
things with them and lived constantly in 
any underground seclusion. In our square 
the houses were close together. We made 
passages from one cellar to another and in 
this way we could walk one block from cel- 
lar to cellar. We passed many hours of 
suffering through fear and hunger, many 
hours of misery in the cellars, praying and 



15 

consoling each other, and during this time 
the Hun was doing his work of destruction 
in our homes. 

They had a system in their piracy which 
is one virtue that they inherited from their 
ancestors. They took hostages from every 
city and village. Usually they took the 
mayor, teachers, priests, ministers, and all 
the prominent people from the place they 
had invaded. Then they wrote out a state- 
ment of everything they wanted, from the 
place they wanted it, and the hour at which 
it had to be delivered to them by German 
time. There was a difference of an hour be- 
tween German and French time. Should 
the boche not receive the exact number of 
things wanted, everybody taken as hostage 
was shot and the whole city burned to ashes. 

At the very beginning they took our au- 
monier (chaplain of school) as prisoner. 
They put him in a small room, locked the 
windows, placed a guard at the door, left 
him in there for several days, and fed him 
on bread and water. 

One day they announced in the newspa- 
pers that they had taken Verdun. To cele- 
brate their victory they needed several 
thousand bottles of champagne and every 
home was obliged to deliver fifty or a hun- 
dred bottles of wine to the Germans by 
three o'clock, German time. The rule was 
that if you did not have wine you had to 
buy it for them or secure it in some way. 
Failure to comply with this order was pun- 



16 

ishable by death. Near the school lived a 
liquor dealer. One morning everything had 
disappeared from his store. He complained 
and the Germans told him that they would 
put a guard in front of the store. They 
did, and the follow^ing day the poor man 
found that all the liquor v^as stolen. The 
guards, themselves, had put it in a safe 
place for their own use. 

It was necessary to have a passport to 
go anywhere, if only a square away, and 
a card for everything that was purchased. 
Most of the time we could not get anything 
in the way of food because all available 
foodstuff was being sent to their Germany. 

Along the streets on the thresholds sat 
the poor women looking at their grocery 
stores and crying, "If they had only paid 
for what they have taken from us." When 
they would ask the officer in command to 
pay for the things he had ordered the sol- 
diers to take from the stores he would say, 
"All right, ril give you a bond and after 
the war is over our emperor will pay you." 
They simply took a scrap of paper and 
wrote in German, — "Come to Paris next 
week and Fll meet you there." That was a 
German war bond. 

The only cheer we heard was "Paris;" 
the only inscription we read on their muni- 
tion wagons was "Paris;" and the only 
thought was a good dinner in Paris. Their 
dinner is cold by this time and they must 
starve to death because they are still long- 
ing for it. 



17 

The first stores they plundered were the 
jewelry stores. They were not content with 
all the jewelry, but they even took the 
watches which the owners of the stores 
wore. My watch was at the jeweler's at 
that time and it took a pleasure trip to 
"Hunland" several months before I did. 

Once I even had to act as interpreter. I 
did not know any English except "Yes sir," 
"No sir," a few formal expressions and 
about fifteen grammar rules which did not 
help me any. They took me early in the 
morning to the mayor's house and with the 
aid of a dictionary I acted as English and 
French interpreter. Most of the Huns 
spoke both languages. They had no need 
of an interpreter but they again wanted to 
play a mean trick, and for many days I had 
to take a walk to the city hall, interpret, 
and listen to their mean sentences and com- 
mands. After I read over a statement of 
a resume of all the things they demanded 
from the city, I remarked that they wanted 
everything imaginable from a toothpick to 
an automobile. When they ravaged the 
homes they took clothes, furniture, lights; 
they even took the metal door knobs and 
all the barbed wire they could find. 

The instructions for civilians were differ- 
ent every day. They were announced on 
red, yellow, and blue placards printed in 
German, English, French, and Flemish. Not 
more than five people were allowed on the 
street together. We had to watch our 



18 

speech very closely because of any condem- 
natory sentence was heard by a barbarian 
we would be shot or made prisoner. Girls 
disappeared every day. One of my friends 
once said in French, "Aren't those Germans 
terrible?" She was sent to Germany to 
work . Sometimes fifty or sixty people dis- 
appeared and were taken to Mons where 
they were blinded after they had to dig 
their own graves and then they were shot. 

Thus the days passed. Our intense suf- 
fering was depicted upon our faces and 
bodies, for hunger is a cruel taskmaster. 
Not even with money could one buy a crumb 
of bread. 

One morning they wanted several million 
francs, an indemnity, as they called it. 
They imperiously commanded that the 
money be in at nine o'clock the next morn- 
ing, German time. Hostages were being 
taken again. Little children, whose fathers 
or brothers were taken as hostages, walked 
from house to house and stopped passers- 
by pleading for money with which they 
might secure the release of their fathers 
and brothers. After collecting money 
through the entire night, we had the set 
amount ready at nine o'clock the following 
morning. After counting the money an 
officer announced in a devilish voice that 
his emperor does not accept paper money. 
He would accept only gold and silver. ^ Then 
we had to begin our drive over again for 
gold and silver in order to keep the Huns 



19 

from shooting our mayor, priests, our 
relatives, and to prevent them from de- 
stroying our city. Such things happened 
for months and years and are still going on, 
and will go on until there are no barbarians 
left. 

If everything is made in Germany, truth 
is not made there. How do the Germans 
keep up the morale of their soldiers and 
civilians? By lies and nothing but lies. 
Falsity is born in them and they are incon- 
vertible. In their newspapers they have 
victories every day. A big headline in one 
of their papers read: — "Eighty thousand 
English prisoners taken." We knew that 
the British did not have eighty thousand 
men on the whole front at that time. The 
strictest instructions were given to civilians 
that day. Instead of ordering everybody 
to go out of doors and see the prisoners 
pass, w^e all had to stay in. Just a few of 
us were permitted to look out of the win- 
dows. I made up my mind to count the 
prisoners with pencil and paper. They 
passed in great numbers and I came to the 
conclusion that it was the first time that 
the Huns told the truth. It was already 
getting dark and the "Tommies" still passed. 
They could hardly walk any more. One of 
them wrote a note which said: "This is the 
fifty-second time that we pass." This ex- 
plained that the Huns had taken four or 
five hundred prisoners and marched them 
around the same square. These were the 
eighty thousand prisoners they had taken. 



CHAPTER III. 

In the month of October he had big food 
requisitions. People tried to save food in 
various ways. Some of them dug big holes 
in their yards and buried what provisions 
they could save. Very often we would walk 
on the streets and we would step on jelly or 
butter which the barbarians had thrown 
away. They threw away and trampled on 
food after their own wants were satisfied, 
preferring to look into the starved faces of 
those hungry people rather than to bestow 
this discarded food upon them. The farm- 
ers were especially warned to bring every- 
thing they possessed to the court house. In 
the following way the boche made that re- 
quest: "You must remember that this 
country belongs to the emperor of Ger- 
many; consequently, your farm is a part of 
the German empire. You don't need to take 
care of it. We have plenty of women to do 
the work. If you don't send all the pro- 
visions of your farm to the court house, 
your home will be blown up and you with 
it." And so the farmers spent day and 
night carrying provisions to the Huns. 

What do you think of this way of con- 
serving food? Not far from our school 
lived a widow with six children, whose hus- 
band had been killed in the war and she 



21 

alone had to provide for the six little ones. 
Fortunately, she had a pig. She came to 
us and cried because she had been ordered 
to deliver her only pig to the Germans. As 
that was the only meat she counted on for 
the winter, she asked our advice as to how 
she could save it. We could not advise her 
because if it would be found by the Huns, 
her life would have been forfeited. She 
went back home and her little boy met her 
at the door saying, "Mother, the boche are 
already next door. They are taking all the 
pigs." She hurried to the stable and took 
out the pig and put it in her sitting room 
where the pig jumped around. Since she 
thought that they would find it, she killed 
it. It is too bad it was not a Hun. Then 
she put it on the table, covered it with a 
white sheet, put flower pots and candles 
around it, and made the children kneel in 
prayer. The children were all crying be- 
cause the pig was killed. Their mother told 
them that if the Germans came in and asked 
any questions they should answer "Qui 
monsieur" and she hid herself in a closet. 
The Huns came in and as soon as they saw 
this sight they turned away. The officer 
came back and asked the children, "Did 
your mother die " The children, ordered 
to say "Yes sir," said "Yes sir." The Huns 
went away. You should have seen the cele- 
bration of the pig after the barbarians left. 
They kissed the pig and they danced around 
it. They had enough meat for the whole 



22 

winter. That is how the poor widow saved 
her only pig. 

When the emperor was coming to Lille 
they wanted to prepare an extra fine dinner 
for him. They ordered everybody who had 
chickens to put them in cases and bring 
them to the State House. We had about 51 
chickens at the school and did not want to 
give them to the Huns. How should we 
save them. We did not wish to kill them in 
one day because we could not eat them all 
in one day. We put them in cases and they 
made such a terrible noise that they could 
be heard for three squares ^way. As the 
Germans were approaching we hastily ran 
into the recreation hall where there were 
two pianos. We put the boxes on each side 
of the pianos and played for the chickens 
the whole afternoon. The Huns looked for 
them in the stables and all around but could 
not find them. And the chickens were 
saved for us. 

I went to the grocery and on the way 
stopped in to see one of my friends. She 
was not at home. Just then the barbarians 
came in and wanted to talk to the brother 
of my friend. He was not at home either 
and I was kept prisoner several hours until 
my friend came home. As we walked 
through the city we saw German inscrip- 
tions on the doors and shutters of several 
houses. Almost all of those houses had 
been plundered. Of course, they could not 
carry the houses away to Germany. They 



23 

wrote with chalk on the walls in German 
"This house is to be protected" or "Please 
protect this house" or "Good people pro- 
tect them" and these were signed by an of- 
ofRcer or colonel. We wondered what those 
inscriptions meant because there was usu- 
ally nothing left in the houses. We con- 
cluded that it must have been one of their 
tricks. They were just warning the troops 
that were to pass after them, that they need 
not stop at those houses because everything 
had been removed from them. We three 
girls got all the chalk we could find and 
with a search light went out into the night 
to write inscriptions on the houses. We 
had to practice a whole day to write in 
German "This house is to be protected," 
etc., and we signed a captain^s or an officer^s 
name to our inscriptions. The following 
day 45,000 troops passed without stopping. 
The only thing they did was to murmur 
"Nothing left, nothing left." Our trick 
worked splendidly for several weeks. 

The Huns did not leave the people quiet 
for a minute. They took the old men with 
them to the front and in the trenches where 
they were shot by our own soldiers. A 
bishop, about 80 years old had to walk 20 
miles. When he was unable to advance as 
quickly as the Huns they gave him blow 
upon blow with their guns. When he could 
walk no longer they threw him into a room 
where he was left alone for several days 



25 

lying on the floor. What they did with him 
afterward I never heard. 

The churches always were the first places 
of destruction. They found no other places 
in which to put their horses and they put 
them into the churches. They used our sit- 
ting room for stables too. But if the Huns 
have destroyed our churches, our cathed- 
rals and the history of our country, they 
cannot destroy our spirit, the spirit of 
France and the spirit of the allies is im- 
mortal and the constant answer to all this 
destruction is "On ne passe pas. Debout les 
morts." 

Very few visitors came to the front ex- 
cept refugees who had walked for days and 
nights. They did not know where they were 
going. They came from one battle and ran 
into another. One day a few girls arrived 
at our school and found us in the cellar. 
They had walked 15 miles and wanted to go 
to school. Even at this time education was 
not neglected on the front. Children came 
to school with gas masks. In the cellars 
you could see mothers reading aloud to 
their children, the cannons did not disturb 
them. Others played on the piano and could 
not hear the constant roaring. One good 
effect of the war upon the people is that it 
inspires them to read good books and good 
poetry. Why I even wrote some poetry my- 
self! 

It was necessary to have a passport to go 
into our own gardens, which, by the way, 



26 

did not look much like gardens in this hor- 
rible day. 

Howdid we live in the school? What did 
we eat? We had coffee, black hard bread 
and a few potatoes. Sometimes we were 
three weeks without seeing a piece of bread 
and we ate potatoes instead. 

The children around there did not lose 
their happy spirit. They played in the 
yards during the heaviest firing. They im- 
personated in scorn the Huns. Very often 
they would stop me and say "Don't 
pass. If you do we will cut your hands 
off!" They made German helmets with car- 
rots and pieces of paper and handkerchiefs. 
However, an order on yellow placards soon 
forbade the derisive games of the innocents. 

We received flour one day from the 
United States. After days of partaking of 
the discarded food and crumbs from the 
Huns' banquet, I wish you could have seen 
us looking out from our hiding places when 
we heard the noise of heavy trucks. They 
were draped with American colors and 
loaded with food. Sack after sack of flour 
was brought into the State House and dis- 
tributed to the starving people who silently 
thanked America. 

As we could not wear our French flag nor 
the Belgian flag, many of us wore the 
American flag instead. The allies were just 
a few miles from us. Very often during the 
night we thought we could hear them talk- 
ing and we were always expecting to see 



27 

them in the morning. One morning as we 
woke up we looked out of the window and 
saw troops in the distance wearing field 
uniforms. It was a very foggy day so we 
ran out of doors to secure a better view of 
the troops, expecting them to be British 
soldiers. But we were filled with fear when 
we recognized the Uhlans. One of them put 
his lance through the arm of a girl about 
14 years old. They told us that they had 
expected to reach Paris but as they could 
not get to Paris they were going to destroy 
everything and kill everybody. 

They continued to bring the wounded to 
the school but they had German nurses to 
care for them. All the ground surround- 
ing the school had been converted into a 
cemetery and there was not one little square 
for another grave. They took the bodies 
a little further away, finally, put them on 
freight trains, dug big holes and threw 
them in. 



CHAPTER IV. 

One October morning the bombardment 
was light and we wondered what the cause 
for this was. We did not see one German 
soldier on the street. At the beginning we 
did not dare go out because we had no pass- 
port. At noon while in the dining room 
eating a Hght lunch, the door bell rang. I 
went to the door and a httle boy cried, "Our 
soldiers are here, our soldiers are here!" 
Before I had time to ask him where they 
were he had disappeared. I ran in, brought 
the good news to the others and was so 
anxious to see the allies that I ran out to 
look for them with my plate in my hand. 
People were walking on the street shouting 
and looking for our soldiers and were told 
that they would be found on the fields. 
There was such a crowd we could hardly 
move. At last we reached a field and 
there we met our soldiers. We were so 
excited and so glad to see them back again 
that we kissed every one of them. Mothers 
saw their sons again; sisters, their brothers 
and sweethearts, their beloved ones. We 
packed together the few things left in the 
stores and brought them to our French, 
Belgian, English and Canadian soldiers. 

Upon turning around we saw clouds of 
dust in the distance and we knew that the 
cavalry was approaching. We hadn't time 
to look very long because the Zepplins were 



29 

dropping bombs. We ran to the gutters and 
remained there a few minutes. As we were 
accustomed to fighting we ran out to see 
what else was taking place. The cavalry 
were now near us. Here was a new kind 
of soldier. We heard some of our soldiers 
murmur "Barbarian" but what they really 
said was "Arabian." As they came closer 
we started to retreat but our friends told 
us to remain and we heard them singing the 
Marseillaise. We then ran to meet them and 
were astonished at their funny uniforms. 
Some of them talked in French and called 
us "Amis." Their little horses pranced 
around. We took their turbans in our 
hands and found them to be much lighter 
than we had expected. Their uniforms were 
different but they all had the French code. 
We were surprised to see that many of them 
were accompanied by women, who wore the 
same uniform as the men and were also 
armed. The women were first class fighters 
because they were sent out on patrol. Our 
soldiers finally entered the city. The people 
invited them into their houses and gave 
them a reception but it was a very meager 
one, I must say. 

In our square lived a man whom we sus- 
pected as a spy. He did not seem to be in- 
terested in the war; he said he knew noth- 
ing about it but at the same time he knew 
everything. He was gone very often "on 
business" as he explained it. Now we had 
an opportunity to find out what* his "busi- 
ness" was. We went to his house but it 



30 

was locked. We three girls broke in 
through the windows, and went into the cel- 
lar. There we found a wireless telephone 
and letters piled high, written in German. 
Some of these were addressed to His Maj- 
esty. One of the girls took the correspond- 
ence and I carried the telephone. We were 
ready to jump out of the window when we 
saw our man coming up the street. We 
jumped through the window and I threw 
the wireless telephone as far as I could and 
with the other two girls I caught the man. 
He couldn^t imagine what the trouble was. 
He shrieked until his throat was sore, and 
we called "Police, police." It took the police 
a long time to come and we had to hold on 
to him so tightly that I tore a piece of his 
shirt off which I kept for a souvenir. Soon 
the police came. They did not tell us what 
they intended to do with him but we knew 
that he had betrayed his last Frenchman. 

Our soldiers were in control of the 
city, yet the Huns were not very far from 
us, for from time to time a few Uhlans ap- 
peared in the neighborhood. 

Many chateaux were located around Lille. 
One of them was inhabited by the Tommies. 
There were fifteen of them, drinking and 
eating in the dining room. The maid ran 
in unexpectedly and said, "Go out quickly, 
the German patrol is coming !" One of the 
Tommies was curious and went to the win- 
dow and looked out. The Huns were about 
one hundred and fifty feet away. With the 



31, 

others he crept out of the chateau and 
found some sticks which they planted be- 
hind the bushes in front of the chateau. On 
the sticks they attached their caps. This 
finished, they went in again and resumed 
their meal. The patrol advanced. The of- 
ficer took out his spy glass and pointed to 
the bushes. They suspected that the Eng- 
lish were hidden there. However, they ad- 
vanced forty feet and when the officer gave 
the order they fired. The caps whirled! 
They kept firing at them for about three 
hours; it takes caps longer to fall than men. 
Some of them whirled around and finally 
disappeared. A few were still on the sticks. 
Now the Tommies appeared and got into 
action. They crouched behind the bushes 
where the caps had fallen. The Huns all 
lined up four by four and advanced, and 
it happened that every Tommy shot from 
four to ten Huns that day. There was not 
even one of the barbarians left to bring the 
news to their battalion. The Tommies then 
went down town wearing the caps punc- 
tured by the bullets. They certainly cele- 
brated that night. Vive les Tommies! 

Our soldiers had been among us for just 
a few hours but we could tell by their quiet 
air that they were awaiting an attack, or 
preparing to fight themselves. It was hard 
to read their thoughts. Scarcely was it to 
be realized that they were with us but we 
never thought they would have to leave us 
again. How strange God's ways are. 



CHAPTER V. 

The following morning was a beautiful 
one, if I recall correctly. We were awak- 
ened by the roaring of the airplanes. They 
flew over our city in great numbers. One 
big Taube seemed to leave the others. We 
did not stop to think what that would mean. 
Early that morning we started down town 
to look for some cigarettes for the soldiers. 
Coming around the corner of a certain 
street we heard a shot. One — then more 
than a hundred followed. Soon machine 
guns began to rattle and in a few seconds 
a fierce battle was raging. The Germ.an 
army marched through the main street; 
they were coming from Antwerp. What ex- 
treme suffering was ours. Their national 
hymn rang in our ears. But a still darker 
cloud was ahead. People tried to escape 
from the new horrors awaiting them. If 
the Huns should come back we would have 
to go through worse experiences than be- 
fore. This thought of the coming monster 
caused the people to run away. The fight- 
ing was in our midst. I always had a little 
valise standing near my bed because I was 
ready any moment to run away. I ran up- 
stairs, picked up the valise and left the 
school. We walked slowly as thousands of 
people were moving on the same road. Many 



>. 




; 




insy^ 


i4///i 




* m£^ \*^W^^IkdS^^^ 


JjU^^^m 


r~ '" mR, 




I^B^hhI 


m& , J 




^^HH 


^'^- ' k/'-^P"! 




^^^^HH| 


Kjl^Hri^ 




^SI^bI 


Mv^OL^M 


^m^i^'^m 


l^l1\M^^jR^B 


^mmH 


^^ 








^M 


^^^H 




^wi 




l^^^^&d J^ 


^^HH^B x.^^ 






Hh 



Deportation of Fkench Priests and Civilians 
Into Germany. 



34 

of them did not know where they were go-- 
ing or where they had come from. Chil- 
dren had lost their minds. Many were se- 
riously wounded. In front of me walked a 
little girl about 11 years old. She had rags 
tied around her arms and she told us that 
the boehes had cut her arms from below 
the elbow. A woman next to her was crying 
and I asked her the cause. She said she 
wished she had her child. I asked her where 
it was. She recalled the scene saying she 
had the baby in her arms. The child was 
wearing a little cap with the inscription 
"Vive la Belgique!" "The Huns passed 
me," she continued, "and as soon as they 
saw this inscription one drew his sword and 
cut her, threw her on the ground and tram- 
pled upon her." This he did before the eyes 
of the mother who will carry this horrible 
picture with her always. These crimes can 
never be forgotten. 

We walked and walked. This was un- 
fortunate Belgium and France moving, 
women, old men, infirm, injured children, 
old and young walked to death, prison or 
worse, but we walked on. The airplanes 
were dropping bombs. Whole villages were 
destroyed. All the trees in the forests were 
cut down. We stopped in a small village 
not knowing where we were, for there were 
ho signs to direct us. In the ruins we saw 
a big crowd. A few chairs were left but 
those had been broken to pieces. We sat 
down to rest on what had evidently been a 



555! 



35 

floor. Oh, the misery ! We tried to console 
each other. Among us were a few women, 
merry and generous beings, sniiling even in 
the prospect of illness or death. I asked the 
names of several children around me but 
they had forgotten them. Others talked 
nonsense. Many of them hardly wore any 
clothing. A little fellow made everybody 
smile when he said, "People, don't cry. I 
had a chance to save my canary bird." And 
then he held up the canary's cage. This 
reminded me to see what I had saved. The 
valise I carried was very light and did not 
bother me very much. I opened it and all 
I had saved were six old handkerchiefs. 
They were the only possessions I had car- 
ried away but I had something to give to a 
few children. Before morning we found 
that the Huns were upon us again. As we 
looked out we could see them digging 
trenches and putting barbed wire across the 
streets. People were still passing. I will 
never forget the expressions on the faces 
in that crowd. I looked deep into their 
hearts, into their souls, which were changed 
more than the surface of the earth. As we 
were in the hands of the Huns again we had 
to move under their command. The fight- 
ing lines were in front of us and on both 
sides. The only thing we could do was to 
go back home. Back home? Most of us 
had no homes left. I decided to go back to 
the school. The Huns went into the houses, 
drove all the women and girls out and 



36 

struck them with the flat of their swords 
and while doing this they laughed at our 
suffering. While on my way to the school 
the fighting was growing more intense. We 
were ordered to the gutters where we re- 
mained for several hours until the firing 
subsided a little. A woman holding a babe 
was killed but the innocent one survived. 
I came to the conclusion that my last mo- 
ments had come too. I started to walk 
again and I thought I was dead. Of course 
I would be killed one jnoment or the other. 
Then with this sensation we faced death 
with a glorious feeling. Suddenly a bullet 
took my hat off. I was almost sure of death 
this time and enjoyed half an hour in 
Heaven. As soon as I gained conscious- 
ness I searched for my hat and walked on 
in clouds of smoke. Children with scared 
eyes looked around for their parents and 
parents looked for their children. And it 
is with terror and homage in my heart that 
I speak of all this. We had lost our homes, 
our territory, but we were ready to suffer 
longer and more and we will keep on that 
way should the cry "Debout les morts," be 
heard. 

I never understood how it was that I re- 
ceived a newspaper from the United States 
just at the time when the allies had been 
back for a few hours. I saw the problem in 
this way. They probably brought some mail 
with them and that was how many of my 
friends and I received ours. All I received 



37 

was a piece of Indianapolis newspaper tell- 
ing that the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
Lauler was in the fighting zone and that 
Mrs. Lauler was worried to death. They 
wondered if they could not have me come 
to the United States. I had never attempted 
to come to the United States because I could 
not even have a passport to go a mile from 
there. 

The school was crowded with refugees, 
children especially, and guarded by the 
Huns day and night. Once I saw big ma- 
chines coming. As it was in the village and 
the scene took place in the fields, many Ger- 
man troops were stationed in the fields. 
They saw the big autos approaching but 
just went on having a good time and did 
not bother about the machines. These, how- 
ever, came clear up to them. As soon as the 
machines began to spit bullets they woke 
up. We could not see the men managing 
these guns and they could not either. I 
learned later that the occupants of the ma- 
chines were Tommies playing a trick on the 
Huns . It must have been the beginning of 
the tanks but they appeared to us as terrible 
iron monsters. We surely were happy and 
proud of our soldiers and triumphed with 
them . 

From our dormatory I had a clear view 
of the battlefield. I saw row after row of 
crosses as far as my eye could see. Oh, 
heroes in those graves ! Give me strength, 
and courage! 



38 

Another ' sight came before my vision. 
The fields were lightened again. Just a lit- 
tle distance away I saw a dog watching over 
a mound under which were lying many sol- 
diers who had been thrown in the day be- 
fore. I whistled but the dog would not 
move. I looked and what did I see? It 
seemed to me as if the earth was moving. 
Was it a reality? I thought it was a mir- 
age. It was not at all for soon the earth 
was thrown up and the dog howled for joy. 
Soon the grave was uncovered entirely and 
a wounded French soldier crawled out. The 
Huns had not seen whether their victims 
were wounded or dead. They just .piled 
them up and buried them. I took care of 
the wounded soldier and his faithful dog 
which had watched for more than a day. 
That man is fighting the Hun today. 

From a distance we heard a roaring 
sound. It became more and more distinct. 
I did not recognize the sound but it seemed 
to be a heavy machine. Every spring and 
autumn our fields and streets are somewhat 
flooded, thus making the ground insecure. 
The Huns must have forgotten about it. 
The sound came nearer and looking out I 
saw a German 42 cannon. It was covered 
with pine trees and drawn by nearly thirty- 
six horses. As soon as it was in the streets 
of our city it began to sink. The soldiers 
running the machine became very nervous, 
so nervous that they nearly pulled one an- 
other's hair out. I prayed and prayed that 



39 

it would sink. How glad I was and how 
mad they were. They missed another rein- 
forcement and I am sure that by today the 
cannon has sunk several feet under the 
ground and they will never be able to use it. 

Every day they brought in more wounded 
soldiers and we gave them first aid. Once 
they brought forty-five machines full of 
seriously wounded men. Many of them had 
died on the way. A few people were always 
anxious to look at the biers but this was 
not allowed. Once they brought in a young 
German soldier about eighteen years old. 
Death was near. An expression of distress 
covered his face momentarily and he asked 
for his mother who was so far away. The 
Hun then cried, "Stop that calling or I will 
finish you up entirely." He continued to 
call for his mother. A French woman 
passed the guard, stopped the bearers and 
kissed the boy and soon he died thinking 
his mother had kissed him. This woman is 
a heroine and the man who spoke so harsh- 
ly is a nameless beast. 

The plundering continued. I saw trunks 
on a wagon in front of the school. My dear 
little black aprons and dresses which I had 
put away for many years were taken to 
Germany before me. All my clothes disap- 
peared and I never saw any of them again. 
We thought that the war would end Christ- 
mas that same year. It was a queer appre- 
hension. Christmas came. I was sitting in 
the cellar embroidering an altar cloth which 



40 

I wanted to put on the altar for midnight 
mass and surprise the sisters. I had nearly 
finished it. Many times I was interrupted 
with my work by bombs and bullets which 
took a little walk in my room from time to 
time. But now it was finished and tomor- 
row was Christmas. On Christmas Eve I 
was walking around the big house. It was 
very cold and we had no light except a few 
candles for the chapel. It wasn't a chapel 
any more, just a little room with an altar 
in it. It was a very cold night. Through 
the snow the Huns carried the women and 
girls away to the trenches. They made the 
girls dance with them and thus celebrated 
Christmas, Many of the girls never came 
back. Shouting continued through the 
whole night. I was kneeling before the 
altar alone. My prayers were always the 
same. "God protect my parents, m.y broth- 
er, my friends and me." The candles soon 
burned out and there was only the twinkling 
of the little votive candles. The twinkling 
light fell on the little Jesus in the crib and 
He seemed to speak to me. I took the can- 
dlelabra from the altar and placed my little 
altar cloth with the Richelieu embroidery 
upon it. I was the only visitor until mid- 
night. Soon the sisters came and midnight 
mass was said. Only a few songs^ were 
heard and the strains of the organ mingled 
with the roaring of the cannons echoed 
within the big stone walls. After mass the 
sisters left the holy place but I remained to 



41 

pray. I still had the flag which said "Lib- 
erty'' pinned upon me, but I was not free. 

A good sister wanted to remind me that 
it was Christmas and she gave me a little 
piece of chocolate which I took with pleas- 
ure. I could not eat it but let my memory 
wander back to the times when we had our 
presents in abundance. Now we didn't even 
have matches with which to light our can- 
dles. We went to bed when it became dark 
and got up as soon as it was light. There 
was no heat in those immense buildings and 
I had on very few clothes. The bullets gave 
us heat and thus the days passed. We were 
getting more hungry right along but what 
were we to do ? Oh ! the nice American flag. 
I hoped they would soon come to our rescue 
or the Huns would starve us to death. 

A new rule appeared on placards that all 
men were expected to appear in front of the 
City Hall at 10:00 German time. The mayor 

of was shot because he did not have 

the list of the names of all the boys ready 
when the officers wanted it. The young men 
were stopped on the streets and sent into 
the trenches where they were shot by our 
own soldiers. Some were sent to Germany 
and what they did with them we never 
knew. If a boy was found at home his par- 
ents would be punished with death and all 
his property would be seized. After all the 
furniture, money, etc., were taken away, 
they began the deportation of women. Hun- 
dreds of women and girls were taken to 







^^ 




P 




H^^^^IP^^v. ' 


1 




^^^^1"-;-.' 


" '' sh 


J 


^1- - ■ if 


Im/KM 


1 




r'WIM 


1 <; 


'^W 


i 


i '-'l ^2 • 


"^ 




i^^^Kr'V . > ^.. 


'■^^ *■ .«*!Shf^ 




~'' ^IsBI^^^RRS 


^^» 



43 

Germany to work and they will never come 
back because many of them are disgraced 
for their whole lives while others are dying 
in slavery. 

Once the emperor was coming through 
our village and they had a very quiet recep- 
tion. We wanted to see the emperor and 
we found a few photographs of him. We 
held them in our hands and glanced at the 
troops and then at the pictures but did not 
recognize him. At last we discovered him 
in a big machine very much like a big room. 
He stepped out of his machine but as soon 
as he heard the cannons roaring again he 
jumped back into the machine and hurried 
away. That was the heroic emperor who 
wanted to rule the world. 

A newspaper man came through the 
lines some way and secretly distributed 
French newspapers. We were told many 
times that not one of our soldiers were left. 
In their newspapers they had taken France. 
In one newspaper they had even built a 
bridge from Calais to Dover and they were 
entering England in triumph and they 
promised not to leave one stone upon an- 
other: Poor, ignorant, civilized Germans. 
I got a newspaper and paid several francs 
for it. A London Times was sold for 100 
francs. In my "Courrier" I found the name 
of Henri, the giver of my American flag. 
He was missing. The prisoners were in 

Camp . Henri was a prisoner. Can 

it be true? 



CHAPTER VI. 

The women were persecuted more and 
more. Some were even found crucified on 
barns with their breasts cut off. In front 
of our school we had a statue of St. Joseph. 
Every day in the cannon thunder I kneeled 
on the grass to ask his protection and guid- 
ance. Once five German officers saw me 
there. I just opened the front door to go 
back in when they stopped me, looked at 
the flag, and said, "Are you American?" 
The sister near me said, "Yes, she is an 
American." "From what city do you 
come?" "From Indianapolis." "Oh," he 
said. "I was just there a year before the 
war." And he began to speak English. I 
felt my knees sinking. What did the sister 
mean? I, an American. It was true, for 
my parents were living in Indianapolis, but 
1 had never seen America and I did not 
speak English. A funny American. But I 
told him in. French that I had been in the 
convent schools since I was a little girl. 
They concluded that I had forgotten my 
EngHsh. "Where is your passport?" he 
shouted. "I haven't any because I never 
needed any." But I thought of my newspa- 
per. I showed the paper to them and point- 
ed out to them a few lines which read: 
"Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lauler is 



45 

in France/* They were half convinced that 
I came from Indianapolis, but they doubted. 
They left. It was on Sunday during the 
time we were in vespers when they came 
running in and asked for me. They had a 
German woman along who spoke French 
quiet fluently. They ordered me to be ready 
in an hour. "Pack your clothes/' they said. 
"I haven't any," I answered. "They are al- 
ready in Germany . He pointed his revolver 
but he did not fire. "Get ready. Where is 
your hat?" "I haven't any." I had a sum- 
mer hat and this was winter time. I did not 
want to spend any money on a hat. I went 
to a sister and she gave me a piece of velvet 
from a priest's robe. With this I covered 
the hat in a few minutes. I even took my 
umbrella which was torn by bullets and the 
stick had been bent by a Hun. I took that 
and a few things in a handkerchief and pre- 
sented myself. Then they tore me away 
from the sisters and I had not the least idea 
of where I was going. I was guarded by 
six guards. They probably thought I was 
going to fly away. We made half of the 
trip in a machine and the other half on a 
train. Where was I going? Were they go- 
ing to shoot me? They first stopped at a 
chateau where resided a German general 
and his staff. It was a spy company. Noth- 
ing more. They all spoke French. I had to 
tell them what I had seen at the front and 
the general opinion of the people on the 
front. I said, "They all know that we are 



46 

going to win this war." ., Then he gave me 
a look. "We," he said, and he pointed a re- 
volver at me. He looked at the German 

lady and said, "Take her to ," and I 

did not comprehend the name. 

We traveled over all the devastated coun- 
try and I could not recognize one place. In 
one ruin I found an old man who said he 
was going to stay there his whole life. Then 
he pointed out to the east and stammered, 
"My daughter is somewhere over there," 
and his tears spoke and I understood but 
could not speak. A little farther away we 
found women and children in a half burned 
church. We passed Louvain. "Yes," said 
the guards. "If Belgium would have left 
the passage free all this would not have 
happened." The woman and the officers 
went into a house and demanded something 
to eat. The woman of the house said, 
"Mademoiselle, they came in the house, we 
ran to the cellar and peeped through the 
cracks and saw the Huns run upstairs, put 
some of my husband^s clothes on and then 
they shot out from the attic at their own 
soldiers. Of course, they would miss them, 
and then they said that we fired on them, 
and soon after that everything was on fire." 
In going through Belgium two days I looked 
the misery and destruction straight in the 
face. Now I was ready to die. 

On the freight train I sat simply against 
the wall without a light the whole night. 
The following day we passed Liege. We 



47 

were at the other end of Belgium. How I 
feared Germany ahead of me! A country 
I never wanted to set my foot on. Why 
didn't they send me back and let me rest in 
the ruins with my friends? I was detained 
several weeks near Aix la Chapelle, in a 
little room with guards at the door. They 
took me to the station several times and 
made me see a few French prisoners they 
had taken. They laughed at them and even 
spit upon them. Then I was taken back to 
my room and German women came to visit 
me. They wanted to know my opinion of 
the war. I wanted to know what the point 
was. I must confess, I cannot remember 
what I answered. A few hours before I was 
on the firing line, now in Germany. I slept 
on a straw mattress for many nights. The 
flag was still pinned over my heart. What 
did I dream one night? I was on a ship 
to the United States. Why could I not go 
to the United States? Oh, no, that was im- 
possible. The guard often took me to the 
officer who asked me if I was still an Ameri- 
can. "Why certainly," I answered, "and I 
shall never change." Then they sent me 
with guards to Frankfort. On the way I 
saw women working on farms. I recog- 
nized our own girls and women, but I could 
not speak to them. They finally thought 
they would convert me and make me forget 
all I had seen in Northern France and Bel- 
gium but I realized more and more the hor- 
ror of it all. The women of Germany and 



48 

their spirit. They came to my room and de- 
scribed the French and Belgium atrocities. 
"It is too bad," they said, "that our soldiers 
are not doing more than they are, because 
if they would show what they could do the 
war would have been over long ago." That 
was their spirit and what we are fighting 
against every day. Every two or three 
hours I had to report to the officer and say, 
"Marie Rose Lauler is here." Then the of- 
ficer would reply in gutteral tones, "Tell 
me that in German." I answered, "Dear 
sir, my tongue is not made for that." He 
saw the American flag pinned upon me. I 
left him wild with anger. 

In the morning they brought me black 
water and black bread and when I broke it 
I found nothing but straw in it. I decided 
that it was special cake for me. In the 
afternoon I received something like soup. 
What it was made of I didn't know, but I 
had to eat it or starve. 



CHAPTER VIL 

I could not write anywhere. They brought 
me some newspapers, some of them printed 
in French, and I had to read them. They 
had taken Verdun, in one of them, and all 
the bells rang that day for the victory. 
They were even on good terms with Italy 
in their newspapers. Finally they brought 
me near Kehl. I was still an American. 
They decided that they would send me to 
the American consul in that city. I was 
taken there under military guard. As soon 
as we arrived at the station the order read 
that nobody was allowed to enter the city. 
The guards tried to find out what the mat- 
ter was and they became consumed with ex- 
citement. I looked at a map hanging in the 
waiting room and I wondered if I could not 
go through Switzerland to France. Just at 
that moment I saw a train for Strasbourg. 
The guards were still discussing. As I was 
standing near the door, I made a short turn 
and walked toward the train. My con- 
science kept on telling me, — don't do it, but 
as I heard: "All passengers on board!" I 
jumped on the train. For the moment I was 
free. 

Now I had to find my way to Switzer- 
land and at the moment remembered that 
I had no passport. I thought that liberty 



50 

would never be mine. I was now going 
south towards Switzerland. It was in Col- 
mar that the express stopped and I had to 
get out. "Passport," that was the only word 
that bothered me. All at once it occurred 
to me to use the passport to Kehl. The 
guards accepted it and took me to the Com- 
mandatur. I could not tell you whether 
this place was located in the city or the out- 
skirts. I only saw liberty coming towards 
me. Before me were the open fields of the 
country, the mountains — the Vosges. I 
would walk day and night if only I could 
get on a sure path away from barbarians. 
We finally reached the Commandatur. I 
did not say aVord. They looked at the 
flag and asked me if I was an American and 
I showed them the passport I had for Kehl. 
Before they had found out where I came 
from I went into the office where they de- 
livered passports for a mile or two. t had 
no idea how far away I was from the firing 
line. They finally decided that they would 
send me to the general, whose name was 
Goethe and who was stationed not far from 
there. There they gave me ten minutes to 
get something to eat. I went into a store 
and bought a basket with a few things. I 
did not need to change my clothes because 
they looked worn out enough. I missed the 
general or the general missed me. 

It was a beautiful morning in April. I 
walked out on the fields. I had no means 
of communication, but I did not become dis- 



51 

couraged, but on the contrary, like the other 
Maid of France I went singing on my way. 
The carrots and turnips I found on the way 
were enough to keep me from starving. I 
walked over twenty miles in two days. The 
good Lord guided me to a school house 
which was kept by French sisters. How 
happy I was to see them ! And for the first 
time in three months I tasted a cup of cof- 
fee and a piece of war bread, which was a 
little different from the special cake I had 
before. I told the sisters my story and they 
advised me not to go any further. I re- 
mained there two weeks and during this 
time I made up my mind as to what I was 
going to do. There was no doubt that the 
huns were searching for me. I would rath- 
er be found alone in the fields than with 
the sisters as the latter were treated ter- 
ribly and a most horrible fate would have 
met them if I were discovered under their 
roof. 

They had a passport to go to the market 
at a small city not for from there. If I 
would use this I could get a little farther 
south and God would direct me after this. 
Upon arriving at Mulhouse I secured a 
passport under a fictitious name which took 
me another 20 miles south. I was still go- 
ing to the market on this passport. Pretty 
soon the loud roaring of the cannons 
warned me that I was not only going south, 
but approaching the Vosges front. If I 
could go over the top, Fd risk everything. 



52 

With great confidence I walked on. The 
guards looked at my passport every two 
miles and then every mile. Now I was 
about 50 miles from Switzerland. The 
guards told me to wait until night came and 
then I could walk on. I simply nodded my 
head and waited. I ventured on the street 
after seven o'clock. I was alone and it was 
dark and snowing and I still carried my 
basket. I had no idea how far I was from, 
the front but I soon found out. It must 
have been eleven o'clock at night. All at 
once a cannon began to roar at my left. 
They were stationed in lines not one hun- 
dred feet away from me. The lighting fuses 
flying around me and I walked between 
the lines. They fired for three hours. I 
was lying in the snow half frozen. I heard 
the yelling of the troops but I could not dis- 
tinguish a French voice. The next morning 
I went through a walking trench and I 
reached a little village nearly all in ruin. I 
went into the cellar of the first house I saw. J 

I heard feeble voices coming towards me 
and soon I recognized a voice, a voice of one 
of my classmates. How did she happen to 
be there? Words cannot express our joy 
when we met. With some other friends she 
had been in a sanitarium in the same little 
village and as the war came so suddenly 
she had to stay there although our beloved 
soldiers were only a mile from there. 

I soon felt at home. We heard the bar- 
barians tramping over us constantly and I 




His Eminence Cardinal Mercieb and Mr. T. P. O'Connor, 
THE Irish Member of Parliament. 



54 

still feared every second that they might 
catch me. Oh! the atrocities of the Huns, 
committed wherever they passed. One of 
my friends was shot because she said: 
"Vive la France!" Many people from the 
same place were put to death, others sent 
away into servitude. 

I became convinced that I would have to 
study the country longer before attempting 
to cross the lines. Bullets came through 
my hiding place, in the cellar, like rain. 
However I was inured to this. I found one 
morning two bullets on the floor and three 
in the mattress and did not hear a single 
thing the whole night. I had gone from 
one battle zone into another. The order 
was that nobody could leave the front for 
several months. In the meantime my food 
consisted of anything I could secure when 
the Huns were not looking. 

If I were to go on and relate the endless 
weeks I passed in this cellar it would just 
be a repetition of the horrible events set 
forth in the beginning of this story. 

It was a cold night in the second year of 
the war. At three o'clock the news came to 
us that the village had to be evacuated. In 
the confusion I lost my friend. Instead of 
going south I had to go north again because 
the order was given that nobody could go 
into Switzerland. 

The little flag was upon my heart still and 
strengthened my determination to brave 
any number of battles if it would bring me 



55 

to the United States. Before I could perfect 
any plans I was again in the clutches of the 
huns. They brought us to the general's 
staff. There I walked into a big room and 
asked for a passport to the United States. 
They wondered if I were crazy. The gen- 
eral asked me if I were Marie Rose Lauler. 
They had received orders to search me. He 
then had me sent to Eichwald. There I was 
put into a house where a widow was living. 
The house was filled with soldiers. I occu- 
pied a little room upstairs. They again 
searched me, but to this day they never 
found my money. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

I was permitted to walk a square a day. 
Every two or three hours I had to report to 
the officer in command "Marie Rose Lauler 
is here." He would turn around and say: 
"Come back in three hours." During this 
period I had to get by stealth a pen, paper 
and ink. It took me a month in writing the 
letter as I progressed slowly, due to my fear 
of being discovered. After weary hours of 
suspense and watching I dropped the letter 
in the mail box. I was overcome with feel- 
ings of gratitude and satisfaction that my 
supplication was on its way to Ambassador 
Gerard. A favorable reply was returned 
to the General. 

From time to time the officers questioned 
me as to what I remembered having seen 
on the front. I informed them that I did 
not know anything about anything. At 
one time the General gave me this message. 
Here are his very v/ords : "If you go back 
to the United States you must tell President 
Wilson to stop sending munitions to the Al- 
lies, because if he did not do that, the war 
would have been over long ago." Yes, I 
thought and you would have Paris, London, 
New York and Washington. I want to 



57 

tell you, I have since delivered the General's 
message to President Wilson. 

From this place I was transferred to 
Frankfort. My life went on the same as at 
the other camp, only here I was questioned 
by German University Women. Their whole 
energies were bent upon working for the 
emperor and they seemed absolutely sure 
of victory. 

Not that I remember time, but I think 
it was weeks before the blessed day when 
my American passport was given to me. 
Before departure, one of the German sol- 
diers asked me if I needed a satchel. I said: 
"Certainly." He brought me an old valise 
they had stolen somewhere in France, on 
the handle of which they had written "Hin- 
denburg". I tore it off and threw it as far 
as I could and carried my valise with a 
string. Next morning all the bells were 
ringing for the great hun victory of Ypres, 
which they claimed to have taken. For me 
the bells were ringing for liberty in America 
and my message to the American people. 
To celebrate this victory, two German flags 
hung from my window, so during the night 
I put blue ink over the black stripe which 
ran into the white stripe and now I saw 
France victorious. 

Early the next morning I was taken away 
and put on a train for Holland. Now we 
are at the German Custom House. Every 
passenger was given a slip of paper contain- 
ing the information that nothing in the way 



58 

of food could be taken out of Germany. 
Also I was not permitted to take addresses, 
books or any article which bore one printed 
word. I had a little journal and up to this 
time had kept it secretly. As we came out 
of the train we were ordered to pass 
through the line of officers and they 
searched everything I possessed. The first 
one wanted my umbrella and asked me why 
I carried it along. It had been through a 
lot and was battered up but I wanted to keep 
it as a souvenir. The next one asked for 
my hat. He looked suspicious because he 
could see that the straw had been covered 
with velvet. He thought perhaps papers 
were hidden in it so he took it and tore the 
velvet off and since his search was in vain 
he threw the hat into the street. That was 
the last of my winter hat. Now my pocket- 
book was investigated. The next one wanted 
my valise and even took my tooth brush and 
kept it because it had a French word on it 
and no written word was to go out of Ger- 
many. Another officer found my notebook. 
I quickly said a prayer that he would not 
look in it. He probably would not under- 
stand it had he read it but I did not want 
to take any chances because I had given 
the Huns the worst possible titles. He did 
not look in it. I suppose he has looked in 
it since and I am quite sure that he regret- 
ted letting me pass by. At the end of this 
line of officers I was ordered to go upstairs, 
remove my clothing and be searched. Go 



59 

upstairs and be searched? I knew the train 
for Rotterdam would soon be in and I dared 
not miss it for it was my only opportunity 
to catch the steamer and they being irregu- 
lar I was liable to be detained four or five 
weeks before taking passage. I had enough 
of Germany, and simply had to get that 
train, and there I was standing inside of 
the room in which we were to be searched. 
I heard my train pulling in and quickly I 
took off my shoes, stockings and skirt. Go- 
ing to the door I said in a persuasive tone : 
"Please let me go, I have to go to the United 
States." The woman in charge opened the 
door and she was so excited over a girl she 
was searching thinking she had discovered 
a spy. She did not bother about me only to 
command me to go on. I ran out to catch 
my train, carrying my shoes, stockings and 
skirt and snatched my satchel from the offi- 
cer but did not have time to get my other 
things because that was the last train out 
of Germany and I must not miss it. 

I had plenty of time on the train to com- 
plete my toilet since I traveled from six that 
evening until the next morning through 
Holland. As the train was speeding on, 
oh, with what fervor I thanked God, whose 
omnipotent power had delivered me from 
the earthly hell of Germany. 

Needless to say, moments of doubt came 
to me of my own good fortune. There were 
many Holland soldiers on the train and they 
talked all the way of the German atrocities 



60 

and sympathized with us refugees because 
Holland was filled with them. In Rotter- 
dam I went to the hotel and took my money 
from its hiding place. Seating myself at 
the table the first thing my eyes rested upon 
was white bread. White bread ! I had not 
seen any for more than two years. All I 
ate was black straw bread or something 
very much like it that made everybody ill. 
I did not stare very long at the bread and 
before the waiter came to me I had eaten 
three slices. It tasted like cake. After 
breakfast I went to the Transportation 
Ticket Office, purchased a ticket for New 
York, and we departed the same day. Our 
ship docked in England. As there were new 
mine fields around there it required sixteen 
days in the crossing. The last day the pro- 
visions ran out. But we forgot about this. 
In the distance I saw the statue of Liberty 
enlightening the world. It would be neces- 
sary for anyone to experience the same 
hours of suffering to appreciate the full 
significance of what "America" meant to 
me. 



CHAPTER IX. 

We landed in Hoboken. I thought I could 
walk right on into New York. "Just a mo- 
ment," said the steward. Then I heard the 
call: "American citizens off first." I just 
wondered if I was still an American citizen. 
With my valise I entered the dining room 
of the ship. I was directed to officer num- 
ber 7. He looked at the passport and said: 
"How long were you in Europe?" My! I 
was afraid they were going to send me back. 
"I have never been in this country." "How 
in the world are you an ^American citizen/ 
then, he asked. In a few words I tried to 
explain my situation. He ordered me on 
Ellis Island. When I heard this I cried "Ger- 
man prisoner, now American prisoner!" 
The officer smiled and replied: "Just go 
ahead." I lost no time now in seeking my 
train for Indianapolis. On the entry of the 
custom house I saw an employee of the rail- 
road and I asked him the way to the sub- 
way. They tell us in France that people of 
the United States speak all languages, and 
I thought he would surely know French 
because it is the easiest one. Consequently 
I asked him: Monsieur, voulez vous me 
montrer la gare Pennsilvanie ? He looked 
at me and said: "What in the — are you 
talking about?" He spoke so quickly and I 



62 

thought that he told me the street that 
would take me there and I answered, 
"Merci, Monsieur." (Thank you, sir.) I 
found the subway and it was not long before 
I was on my train to Indianapolis. I had 
a rather funny trip. Every little noise I 
heard, I thought it was a bullet and I ducked 
my head many times. I thought I was go- 
ing to the end of the world. In Pittsburg 
I was all dressed, ready to step out. I 
thought we must have reached Indianapolis. 
The porter took my valise and said, "Where 
are you going?" "To Indianapolis." He 
smiled and said, "You better sit down a 
while." But I could not wait. At last I am 
in Indianapolis. My mother and father and 
brother and friends were at the station to 
meet me. 

I was in America just a few months be- 
fore war was declared. 

Now, Dear Readers, my story is told. I 
say to you good-bye, hoping to meet you 
some day during my tour and explain ver- 
bally what I am unable to write. 

MARIE ROSE LAULER. 



TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC. 

France needs your help to preserve her 
noble race. Thousands of war orphans 
are to-day looking up to the great America 
for their comfort and their salvation de- 
pends on your generosity. Would you like 
to help them? If so, the following two 
ways will accomplish this aim: 

1. Ten cents per day will take care of 
one orphan for one year. Communicate 
with the Secretary of The Fatherless Chil- 
dren of France, Penway Building, Indian- 
apoHs, Ind., and details will be given. (This 
society is under the High Patronage of Mar- 
shall JofFre.) 

2. Send new and used clothing for men, 
women and children, to the French or- 
phans Guard, Waverly Building, Indian- 
apolis, and same will be sent in your name 
to France through the special transporta- 
tion service of the High Commission of the 
French Government or the General Con- 
sul of Belgium, for the Northern part of 
France or when necessary by a special de- 
partment of the Red Cross Society. Cloth- 
ing and shoes are greatly needed. 

Insert your name and address in package 
and the French receivers will acknowledge 
your gift directly. 



^ 64 

For a club in your community and espe- 
cially in your schools. 

Let us remember this beautiful sentiment 
of the great Victor Hugo, "A home without 
a child is like a golden cage without a bird/* 



Think of our French 

orphans. 
This 18 my wish. 

M. R. L. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 







